Chapter 20 Notes (Political Expansion)
Contested Political Visions * High white male voting involvement but labor Unions failed to have any major political influence due to poor organizing. * Political parties dominant * Republicans had appealing economic changes before the war. * Democrats saw republicans as radical ideas that were a threat * Middle Class embraced the idea of Laissez-faire, the belief of unregulated economic competition was the best. ** Poor farmers mad at government for high railroad fees. Patterns of Party Strength * Democrats ruled the South, Republicans had the North. ** Democrats ran for minimal costs kind of like modern day republicans. They also opposed prohibition. * Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) a social/political lobbying group of civil war vets * Republicans wanted to pat war vets on the back. * Irish-Catholics + Germans voted for Democrats. * Methodists / Congregationalists and some Baptists and also British/Swedish voted for Republicans. Regulating the Money Supply * Politicians address how to create a steady money without bad inflation. ** Greenback party forms and wants money expansion, won seats in congress by dies out as money value returns. ** Sherman Silver Purchase Act --> U.S. Treasury purchases 4.5 million ounces of silver per month. Civil Service Reform * Voting reward system spoils system --> Hayes embraces civil service, disliked fraud * Garfield Assassination in 1881 --> Brings emotional cause for some ** Pendleton Civil Service Ac and organizes equal gov't jobs and forbade spoils system. * Chester A. Arthur is a decent president, supported civil services. Gives democrats a nice revival. A Democrat in the White House: Grover Cleveland * Blaine nominated from Republicans but stains his name with a bold claim. * Some republicans flee to Cleveland who is a democrat, they are called Mugwumps. * Cleveland believed gov't should not meddle with economy ** Rejected corruption investigations claims in economics, vetoed a pension bill for Civil War veterans. Big Business Strikes Back * Some people believed Cleveland had to go. * Benjamin Harrison develops a new style of electioneering; gets $4.0 million campaign funds for democrats. * Harrison beat Cleveland by electoral college --> rewarded his voters ** Massive pension system + medical care. ** Rise of welfare. Agrarian Protest and the Rise of the People's Party * Terrible grasshopper razed farms in the West around 1873 and 1877 * Wheat prices drop to 33% ** Wheat farmers went bankrupt from loans and borrowing money. ** Farmers set up cooperative ventures *** This is the Grange and membership rocketed! **** Grangers focused wrath on railroad who chocked them on rates, so the go to the supreme court. ->court rejects railroads appeal **** Grange movement soon failed *** Farmers' Alliance rose in the South and West. **** Began in Texas, then organized alliances **** Members joined especially during the drought. Also the formation of the National Woman's Alliance **** Alliances from the North and South played a role in elections, heavily affected the 1890 election **** Populist Party rises -> endorsed sub-treasury plan African Americans After Reconstruction * End of reconstruction brought southern whites back to power. * Suppressing black votes in the south became a major goal ** Voting fraud, force voting. ** Restricted black votes by things such as literacy tests, poll taxes ** Grandfather clause, could only vote if grandfather did after 1860. * States erected state laws for segregation. ** Blacks sent to jail faced extreme convict labor (like slavery) *** Convict labor threatened free laborers, many unions denounced the convict labor. * Lynching became the most used southern act for white supremacy. ** 100 blacks lynched annually *** Blamed for things such as the rape of white women * Watson denounced convict labor, and lease system. * Poor white farmers feared from becoming treated like blacks due to their position in society. Feared negros being better. * Plessy v. Ferguson was a case the supreme court upheld over railroad car segregation. ** The south then segregated the souths education system. * Booker T. Washington was a black leader at the time, well educated. ** Urged blacks to learn special skills, said they need to prove their worth. ** Frederick Douglas urged full equality. * Some blacks responded to all the racism by leaving the southern region ** Several 1000 moved to Kansas, 10,000 go to Chicago. 1892:Populists Challenge the Status Quo * Populists rise from all the violence of labor strikes. Local politics realize this turmoil and make careful moves. * Republicans nominate Harrison, Democrats pick Cleveland again. Cleveland won. * Democrats in the south were mixed with racism and local loyalty. Capitalism in Crisis: The Depression of 1893 - 1897 * Economic collapse in RR industry. * Investment bank collapse, investing falls. * Gold reserve falls sharply to 100$ million. * Triggers the Panic of 1893. ** Stock prices falls, 74 railroads fail, 15k commercials fail. ** Crisis has a heavy toll, employment is nearly a 25%. Crop prices drop as well. *** Protests and strikes Business Leaders Respond * Cleveland refuses to intervene, doesn't want to be involved. * Government reserve keeps falling, turns to big banks for loans, $62 million. ** Treasurey steady, 100$ mil reserve again. ** Wilson-Gorman Tarrif modest tax of 2% on income. 1894: Protest Grows Louder * William Jennings Bryan nominated but William McKinley is victorious in the elections to come. * 1894 Democrat election disastrous, worst of depression. Republicans gain foothold again. * Cleveland rigidly believed in gold standard. ** People realize some of the issue and need of paper money. Silver Advocates Capture Democratic Party * Southern delegates demand silver to gold ratio of 16 to one. * Silverlites capture democratic party, advocated free silver 1896: Republicans Triumph * Bryan traveled the nation giving his free silver speech. Very popular and good speaker. * McKinely wins by using new election techniques, swipes popular and state votes. But how did Bryan loose even during this depression? ** People and particularly farmers realized silver would cause a price rise. ** Republican recovery kills the Populist party and drives democrats back to the South. Roots of Expansionists Sentiment * US Business was given a safety valve with production by being able to export goods to Europe. * Some pro-navy people further fueled expansion and marine based business. * Alfred Thayer Mahan urged U.S. naval build up. ** Secure territories and special harbors --> Hawaii! * Religion claimed America's mission was to spread Christianity. * Disputes over foreign countries about fishing waters and territories. ** Civil war rages in Chile in 1891. Chile is sorry for damage to U.S. and incident is closed. Pacific Expansion * U.S. navy focused on Samoan Islands in South Pacific. ** UK, US, and Germany agree with a special treaty over the Islands. * US builds a naval base at Pearl Harbor, angers Hawaiians. * US twists Hawaii into submission economically by the sugar crop, prices drop and Hawaii drops the renegade Queen Liliuokalani who denounced American control. Gives the US the perfect chance to sweep it into it's domain. * 1898, Congress proclaims Hawaii as an American Territory. Crisis over Cuba * Expansionists want Cuba which is owned by Spain, Cuba is in a Spanish rebellion so it is a good chance for America to step in. * Rebel cause aroused US sympathy, fuels America's hate machine. * U.S. Battleship Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor, 266 killed. ** McKinely mad, sends war message to Congress. US says they will leave Cuba and let it be independent as it is. The Spanish-American War, 1898 * U.S. war with Spain. ** America makes first move and captures/destroys 10 ships and kills 381 Spanish. ** Create port blockade of 5 battleships and 2 cruisers. *** Spain comes in with 7 aged vessels. ** Ground battle as U.S. soldiers secure 3 strongly defended Spanish garrisons. ** Spanish try to break through, US opens fire and kills 474. * Clara Barton president of America's Red Cross founded wounded soldiers poorly treated, not impressed, they were left in exposed elements, unable to eat rations. ** 1,000 nurses rushed into service, however 380 soldiers still died and 5,000 received food poisoning, malaria, yellow-fever. * 7,000 black soldiers fought in Cuba --> blacks riot in Florida due to mistreatment and racism ** White troops from Georgia restore order in Tampa (in Florida) ** Black soldiers key in many battles, served with distinction. ** Spanish seek armistice on July 17th ** Gave Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam to U.S. for $20 million * U.S. government governs Cuba for 4 years, troops eventually withdraw and leave Spain to its own sovereignty. (Platt Amendment, but requested some special terms with Cuba to not borrow beyond its means and limit its foreign independence.) ** However US maintains a military base in Cuba (still in use today) Critics of Empire * Some Americans opposed US imperialism. * Mugwumps challenged especially U.S. president William Bryan and novelist Mark Twain. ** Form the Anti-Imperialist League *** Believed control or rule of others is violating basic principles of the declaration of independence. *** Some labor union leaders realized this imperialism might make their work harder to secure. *** Anti imperialists fail to prevent Senate ratification of a peace treaty with Spain. Guerrilla War in the Philippines, 1898 - 1902 * U.S. saw economic purpose of the Philippines as a stepping stone to Asian market. * US wanted to educate them and civilize, this needed uplifting (with or without force *wink*) * Emilio Aguinaldo organizes Filipino independence movement to drive out Spain, Spanish surrender after key point is captured. ** Peace treaty ceases territory to US. Aguinaldo feels betrayed that it was ceded to US, order rebel attack. *** Conflict, 70,000 Americans shipped to Philippines. Big conflict, estimated 20,000 Filipinos killed, and 200,000 civilians killed. *** Conflict stabilizes, Congress further stabilizes the situation by passing the Philippine government Act in 1902 that vested authority in a governor general to be appointed by the president but kept under U.S. control and denied independence. Category:Chapter Notes